


The Sunlight (In Your Eyes)

by Abby_S



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, F/F, Fluff, Ocean, Summer, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-13
Updated: 2014-06-13
Packaged: 2018-02-04 13:39:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1781062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abby_S/pseuds/Abby_S
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charlie has always loved the ocean; its salty, heady smell, the sound of the waves, the colors. Charlie creates a palette in her mind. Gray for the wet pebbles that shine under the sun. Yellow for the sand, ocher and red for the sunsets, when the ocean seems to swallow the sun. Blue for the sea, blue for the sky.</p><p>Blue for Hannah's eyes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sunlight (In Your Eyes)

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Grouplove's close your eyes and count to ten. This whole fic is a Grouplove song.
> 
> Unbeta'd. Yup, this is a ficlet that got out of hand. Again. I fail at having a life.

Charlie and Jo meet them on their first day. They’re all in their late twenties, just like them, and just like them they met in college and decided to take a stroll down memory lane and go on a vacation together. They strike up a quick friendship; Charlie has always been an outgoing kind of person, and Jo, surprisingly (or not so surprisingly, considering what happens later) follows her lead.

There’s Anna, a redheaded hippie that smiles at Jo like she hung the moon with her bare hands.

Castiel, Anna’s brother, who stares at lot and quotes Star Wars like the best of them.

Raphaël, who _glares_ a lot and doesn’t speak. At all.

Uriel is pretty scary, but turns out to be one of the funniest guys Charlie’s ever met.

Hael is kind of quiet, but she looks nice enough.

But the one that really stands out to Charlie is Hannah. Hannah, for one, is _beautiful_ , and Charlie isn’t one to use this word lightly. But it isn’t what draws her attention; it’s Hannah gaze, intense. It’s her smile, rare and bright like a flame. Charlie could wax poetic about Hannah’s smile.

They spend their days together, taking long walks along the cliffs and midnight dips in the sea. The weather is ideal, and Charlie can’t get enough of the landscapes. She has always loved the ocean; its salty, heady smell, the sound of the waves, the colors. Charlie creates a palette in her mind. Gray for the wet pebbles that shine under the sun.  Yellow for the sand,  ocher and red for the sunsets, when the ocean seems to swallow the sun whole. Blue for the sea, blue for the sky.

Blue for Hannah’s eyes.

Hannah, as Charlie finds out, is an English teacher. It makes her feel strangely inadequate. She’s not _immature_ , not really. She just…likes joking around. And Hannah, well, Hannah is _serious_. She smiles at Charlie a lot, she really does, but Charlie can’t help feeling self-conscious about her worn out Harry Potter t-shirt, about her chipped rainbow-colored nail polish. It isn’t Hannah’s fault, not exactly. She’s been really nice to Charlie, letting her chatter her ear off during the day and answering quietly to her questions.

And Charlie tries to flirt, she really does, but it doesn’t seem to work.  

Hannah is quiet and thoughtful, but her answers are short and almost clipped. Charlie can’t help wondering if Hannah isn’t just being polite.

She tries to talk to Jo about it, but Jo is…well, if Charlie didn’t know better, she’d think that Jo is in love.

“I don’t know, Charlie,” she says, waving at Anna (who’s making what looks like a… sand mermaid. Or something. )“I think it’s just the way she is. Anna called her the group’s mom.”

Charlie sighs, and decides to stop trying. She doesn’t stop _talking_ to Hannah, of course, she isn’t that petty. She just stops seeking her company more than the others’.

Hannah doesn’t seem to take notice; Charlie sighs and tries not to feel crestfallen.

It goes on like this until their last day. They decided to end their vacation on a high note. They’re all gathered around a huge campfire, eating s’mores.  Anna’s brought her guitar; she has a lovely voice, which is more than can be said for Castiel, who sounds like Tom Waits on a bender.  Jo looks a little starry eyed, gazing at Anna adoringly. Seeing this expression on her friend’s face is a little disturbing, but Charlie is really happy for her. Even Raphaël look like they’re having a good time. The sun is about to set, and Charlie listens to her friends’ laughs, happy with sitting back and watching them. She already feels a little sad about having to leave them; some of them don’t live far from Chicago, but Charlie knows it won’t be the same. They’re all going back to their lives, tomorrow.

“Hello, Charlie.”

Charlie jumps and flushes like a teenager when she recognizes the voice. She turns around and tries not to choke on her own saliva.  

“Hi, Hannah,” she says faintly. She’s wearing a long white dress, walking barefoot in the sand. She looks like a pagan goddess, and Charlie’s flush deepens at the sappy thought.

“Would you like to take a walk with me?”

Charlie blinks. Did Hannah really just ask that?

“Sure,” she says hesitantly. Hannah offers her hand and helps her up. And she just…doesn’t let go.  Charlie’s heart is pounding so loudly she’s pretty sure Hannah can hear it, and her palms are starting to sweat. Which, yeah, awkward.

She tries to act nonchalant as they walk down the beach, like platonic handholding is something that happens to her every day.

 “I couldn’t help but notice,” Hannah says, looking straight ahead. She pauses and looks strangely flustered for someone who’s usually the most collected of them all. Now, her cheeks are faintly red. Charlie doesn’t say anything, lets Hannah work through whatever she wants to say.

“I couldn’t help but notice you’ve been avoiding me. Charlie, I hope I haven’t made you uncomfortable in any way.”

Charlie stops walking, and is about to ask for an explanation when she hears Jo’s and Anna’s appreciative hoots.

The sun is setting, finally, and they turn to watch the ocean just in time to see it change colors. It is breathtaking, truly. Tears prickle her eyes like tiny needles of happiness. It might be the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen, this explosion of colors as the clouds take a bright pink hue and the sun turns tawny, sinking slowly below the horizon.

She squeezes Hannah’s hand, and Hannah squeezes back.

“Dude, I thought _I_ was making you uncomfortable, what with the, huh, flirting. And everything.”

God, she really does know how to break the moment, doesn’t she?

But Hannah just laughs softly and shakes her head, still looking at the ocean. The sky has faded to a dark blue, and a slight breeze makes Charlie shiver.

“So you _were_ flirting. I wondered.” She nods and ducks her head. “Do you…do you still…?”

That’s when Charlie gets it.

All this time, Hannah wasn’t being _polite_. She wasn’t being _distant_. She’s just incredibly awkward, and Charlie feels like an ass for not noticing that before. She turns to face Hannah, reaching out to tuck a nonexistent strand of dark hair behind her ear. Hannah’s eyes go wide, and yeah, _bingo_.

“I would really like to flirt with you again, Hannah,” she says solemnly, trying to hold back her grin. “You know.  If you want.”

Hannah smiles and nods slowly.

“Yeah. I think I’d like that.”

The tide is rising and waves are starting to lick at their feet, leaving behind trails of white foam, but Charlie can’t move. She’s mesmerized by how bright Hannah’s eyes are, even in the twilight. Hannah is smiling, still. It’s something softer, something new.

Charlie isn’t expecting her to make the first move, but those are lips pressed against hers, sweet and hesitant. And, well, she isn’t going to complain. The kiss is like any first kiss. It is chaste, but somehow more intense than anything Charlie’s experienced in years.

“Woah,” she says softly when Hannah takes a step back and laughs a little giddily.

When Hannah takes her hand to drag her higher on the beach, safe from the rapidly rising tide, Charlie smiles.

Best. Summer. Ever.

 

_Fin._


End file.
